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Port Authority Maintains BBB+ Credit Rating

The credit rating agency Standard and Poor on Tuesday notified the V.I. Port Authority that it would continue to rate it BBB+. According to Standard and Poor, the Port Authority’s financial outlook is stable.

"In these trying financial times it is reassuring to know that the authority has received this credit rating,” VIPA Director Carlton Dowe said in a press release issued Wednesday. “In the event that we have an emergency or critical project that we may need to finance, we have something substantial to present to potential lenders during negotiations."

Todd Spence, a Standard and Poor credit analyst, said the rating reflects the authority’s vulnerability to natural disasters and other events that can affect financial performance, recent volatility in financial performance and its reliance on revenues from cruise ships.

Port Authority spokesman Monifa Marrero elaborated. She said that even with those vulnerabilities, the agency is still doing well.

While Standard and Poor gave the agency a good rating, Marrero said the Port Authority has no plans in the near future to go to the bond market.

Standard and Poor is recognized internationally as a leader in financial market intelligence. Credit ratings issued by Standard and Poor are opinions about credit risk published by a rating agency. They express opinions about the ability and willingness of an issuer, such as a corporation, state or city government, to meet its financial obligations in accordance with the terms of those obligations.

Credit ratings are also opinions about the credit quality of an issue, such as a bond or other debt obligation, and the relative likelihood that it may default.

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